MONUMENT – Already, January’s snow storms have had an impact on several of the breweries and distilleries in Monument.
And another winter storm is about to hit Southern Colorado.
The year starts out a bit slow anyway for these types of businesses.
People are still going strong on their New Year’s resolutions to be healthier, which can include cutting back on alcohol.
And another resolution trending this year: not drinking for the month of January.
Add a couple of snowstorms to the equation…and some of these businesses are taking an early hit in 2019.
Of course, business owners understand they’re going to get a fair amount of snow in Monument every year–that’s a given.
But it’s been the timing of these blizzards that really hurt.
“We opened in 2011–so 8 years. This is probably the snowiest January we have,” said Pikes Peak Brewing Company Owner Chris Wright.
“The last two weeks have been rough. The last 2 Fridays, we’ve had 8 inches of snow during prime businesses hours in Monument,” he told News5.
3 Hundred Days Distilling, in Monument, says at least 60% of the week’s revenue comes from Fridays and Saturdays.
The most recent snowfall cleared out a big chunk of their customer base over the weekend.
Over the years, they’ve learned to adapt.
“We come up with different cocktails and try and keep our parking lot clear so people can get in and get out again,” said Owner Michael Girard.
“But we’ve got a couple hot drinks we do–hot toddy-style drinks. So when it’s snowing out and the weather is a little adverse, we still get people coming in,” he added.
Wright says some of the locals have gone to great lengths to get to his brewery, when bad weather hits.
“We’re used to a lot of snow totals up here. We’ve actually in the last two years had people ski to brewery during some of the bigger storms, so that’s a lot of fun,” he said smiling.
Fortunately for both businesses, the latest storm to pass through should be over before the weekend.
